Romero Games has secured a new publisher for its unannounced shooter, bringing former staff back after the project lost Microsoft’s backing.

There is some welcome news for Ireland’s games industry. Romero Games, the Galway-based studio founded by Doom and Quake co-creator John Romero, has found a new publisher for its previously troubled shooter project, giving the game a second chance after Microsoft withdrew its funding.

Romero confirmed the news in an interview with Video Games Chronicle at Gamescom Asia on 30 October. He declined to reveal the identity of the new publisher, but said an agreement had been reached and development was moving forward again.

A difficult road back

The road back has not been straightforward. After losing its previous funding, Romero Games struggled to keep the original development team together while searching for a new publishing partner.

Romero said the studio went from around 110 employees to just five. Since then, it has managed to bring back ten former team members, many of whom had led different development teams. The current team now stands at approximately 15 to 16 people.

A very different game

This is not simply the original project picking up where it left off. Romero explained that the original game was designed for a team of more than 100 people and could not realistically be completed by the much smaller group that remained.

Instead, the project has undergone a complete redesign. The new game remains a shooter, but it reuses elements of the previous work, including artwork, code, characters and weapons. Romero described it as a different game built around what the smaller team can realistically create.

He also described the relationship with the new publisher as particularly positive, saying it has no creative demands and is allowing the team to make the game it wants.

A second chance for an Irish studio

For an independent studio that came close to losing its project and most of its workforce, securing a new publisher is a significant turnaround. It is also a welcome development for Ireland’s games industry, with Romero Games continuing its work from Galway.

There are still plenty of unanswered questions. The publisher’s identity, the game’s title, its platforms and any potential release window remain under wraps.

For now, Romero Games is back making games, with a smaller team and a redesigned project. After everything that happened, that is a welcome development for the studio and the Irish games industry.

Source: Video Games Chronicle (interview with John Romero, 30 October 2026). Additional reporting: Game Developer.